Unlucky
by literal.semicolon
Summary: OR: If Nino finds out first. Nino accidentally saw Marinette transform. This is the chaos that ensues. Yeah, it's another reveal fic. I can't help myself. One day there's going to be a shameless self-insert fic, and you're all gonna wish it was another reveal fic instead. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

Nino felt like the absolute _unluckiest_ guy in France. Possibly in the world. During the latest akuma attack, he could have run and hidden literally _anywhere_ in the school, but he chose to dash into an empty classroom and hide under a desk. Unfortunately for him, someone else had the same idea.

"Tikki, transform me!"

 _Oh. My. God._ Nino couldn't even blink. Ladybug—Marinette—had ducked out as quickly as she'd come in. His thoughts were a jumble of,

 _Oh my god oh my god oh my god._

 _I have to tell Adrien._

 _But I can't betray Marinette!_

 _Alya will kill me if she finds out I know._

 _Alya will kill Marinette if I tell her._

 _But Adrien has a massive crush on Ladybug!_

 _Who is Marinette!_

 _Who has a crush (that I'm not supposed to know about) on Adrien!_

 _Oh, god, I'm so screwed._

For an agonizing month (a whole month!), Nino clamped his mouth shut over the words every time they wanted to spill out. He went out of his way to prevent others from finding out the way he had.

He was pretty good at keeping secrets, but this one was too big. It was too heavy a load for him to bear on his own.

"Nino, are you doing okay?" Adrien asked. "That's like the fifth time you've sighed since we got back to your room."

"Dude." Nino took his hat off and rubbed his face, knocking his glasses askew. "Listen, I can't… I have to tell you something."

Adrien's heart sank a little. Did Nino know he was Chat Noir? "What's up?"

Nino adjusted his glasses, ignoring the heavy feeling in his stomach. "This isn't my secret, so you can't tell anyone. Not a soul."

His friend was confused. "If it's not your secret, _you_ shouldn't tell anyone."

Nino groaned. "But I can't keep it to myself anymore! It's making me crazy! Please, just… I need to tell _someone_."

Adrien bit his lip. He was already keeping one secret. He could help his friend keep another. He sighed. "Alright. What is it?"

Nino leaned close and whispered. "I know who Ladybug is."

Adrien's heart dropped to the floor. "Nino, you can't tell me."

"But I already started. I was hiding under a desk when I saw her transform. Listen, man, I can't tell Alya because she runs the Ladyblog. You're the _only_ one I can tell." He gripped his hat in his hands as Adrien replied.

"No," Adrien stalled, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You have other friends, right? What about Marinette? I'm sure she can keep a secret."

The look in Nino's eyes went from desperate to panicked. He shook his head slowly. "No, dude."

Adrien grabbed Nino's shoulder for support, eyes wide as his brain took the hint and ran with it. "Oh, my god."

"See? Now you understand why I can only tell _you!"_

Adrien sat down on the edge of Nino's bed, dazed. "Marinette. Oh, my god. Nino, she's going to kill me. She's going to murder us in our sleep."

His distant stare was starting to scare Nino. "Dude, you okay?"

"Say goodbye to your friendly neighborhood cat," Adrien mumbled as his friend gripped his shoulders.

Luckily for both of them, Nino just thought he was going delusional. "Oh, hell, I broke him. Earth to Adrien!" He tapped his friend's forehead with his knuckles. "Listen, dude, you can't tell anyone. Especially not Alya or Marinette. It'd ruin _their_ friendship and _our_ lives. Do you understand?"

Adrien nodded dumbly.

When Adrien's bodyguard drove him home, he stared out the window, mind racing. On the other hand, Nino felt much lighter, having unknowingly handed to his friend a much heavier weight than he could have understood.

Now Chat Noir knew who Ladybug was.


	2. Chapter 2

Adrien agonized over the new knowledge. He wasn't keen on Nino knowing either, but it was far too late to close _those_ barn doors.

He didn't say a word for three hours. He was restless, pacing around one minute, and groaning facedown on his bed the next.

"Plagg," he finally said, "I am so screwed."

The tiny black kwami replied, "Just don't tell her you know. She can't find out you know if you don't tell her."

"That might work for _Adrien_ ," the teen moaned, "but how is Chat Noir going to focus on fighting akumas?"

Plagg shrugged. "You never had any problems fighting akumas while keeping your _own_ identity a secret."

"That's because my own identity isn't a surprise to me," Adrien deadpanned. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Ladybug has a kind of sixth sense. Like, she'll know I know her identity the second she sees me."

The kwami laughed. "That is _not_ one of Ladybug's powers," he said.

Adrien threw his arms in the air. "Then maybe it's a Marinette thing! All I know is that she's going to take one look at me and _know_." Dragging his hands down his face, he muttered, "No one ever told me that _being_ a black cat was so unlucky."

* * *

Three days had passed before another akuma had attacked.

Adrien had managed that long to "play it cool" at school. It was easy when Marinette was behind him, but he had to fight a blush every time she waved or smiled at him. _Marinette is Ladybug_. The thought returned to him repeatedly, threatening to spill a confession out of his mouth. _I know who Ladybug is_.

His discomfort turned to panic the moment he realized the city was again under attack.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, not yet!" he hissed under his breath. "I can't do this right now!"

"Too bad, kid, it's go time," Plagg replied. Then he gleefully added, "Your Lady needs you."

"Keep that up and see if I buy you camembert in the next week." Adrien took a deep breath. "But you're right. Transform me, Plagg."

Essentially, Chat Noir was the same as always. But he and Ladybug both knew that something was off.

Ladybug chastised him when they had a moment. "Chat, I don't know what's going on with you, but you need to get it together."

He looked away from her, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, Ladybug, I… I've just been a little distracted."

She sighed, more than a little worried about Chat Noir. He'd all but ditched the silly nicknames, missed at least two perfect pun opportunities, and he was just… not keeping up. "When this is over, if you want to talk about whatever's bothering you, we can meet on the Eiffel Tower. But for now, I need you to focus, Chaton. I can't do this by myself."

Ladybug's real identity was obvious, now that he knew. Only Marinette could be so encouraging and so kind under pressure. _Hindsight is twenty-twenty after all_. "Okay," he said, nodding resolutely. "Let's go."

Chat Noir quickly got back into his usual rhythm, following and matching Ladybug's every move. Within a few minutes, they were finally able to take down the akuma and free the person under Hawkmoth's influence.

* * *

With the time it took to feed Plagg, Adrien contemplated what he was going to tell Ladybug when they met up. "Should I tell her who I am?" he asked Plagg. "I mean, it would only be fair."

Plagg shrugged as he finished his favorite snack.

"Thanks for the input," Adrien said flatly. He took a deep breath, trying vainly to quell the butterflies in his stomach. "Alright, Plagg. Claws out."

When he caught up with Ladybug on the Eiffel Tower, she was perched in the latticework, her legs dangling in open air. He sat beside her, biting his lip. "Ladybug," he said quietly, "you need to know why I was so distracted."

"I need to know? Or you need to tell me?" she asked, adjusting to face him slightly.

"Both. You should know… I know you're Marinette." Adrien's heart leapt into his throat as he tried to gauge her reaction.

She shuffled away from him, panic in her voice. "What? How? I _told_ you we shouldn't—"

"I know, I didn't!" he replied quickly. "Someone else told me. I tried to tell him not to—he just—"

Her face went from slightly pink to ashy white. "Someone else? Who? _How?"_

Adrien swallowed. This was it. The point of no return. "Nino was hiding under a desk, and he saw you."

Ladybug was voiceless for a minute before she let out a strangled, "Nino?" A pause. "Wait, how do you know _Nino?"_

"Um…" He let out a shaky laugh. "We're friends. I… sit next to him in class."

With a panicked squeak, and a muttered, "No, no, no!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo and launched herself off the tower.

"Ladybug, wait!" Chat Noir called. It was pointless though; she was already gone. He attempted to swallow his anxiety along with the lump in his throat before he made his way back home.


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette barely made it home before she just about lost it. Tikki hovered by the chaise while she paced furiously around her room. Her brain was going faster than her mouth could, so she just shouted bits and pieces of her thoughts.

"Chat Noir!" She pressed her hands to her reddened face. " _Adrien!_ "

"Marinette?" Tikki's voice went unheard.

" _NINO? Under a DESK?_ "

After pacing a few more times, she dropped onto her chaise with a moan. "That's it, Tikki. My life is over." She sighed. "It was fun while it lasted. Now I have to fake my death and move to another country. Maybe pretend I'm Belgian or Swiss."

"It's not that bad," Tikki remarked.

Marinette threw a glare at the kwami, counting with her fingers as she spoke. "One: my identity is compromised. Two: _Adrien is_ _Chat Noir_." Her face flushed again. "Three: not only did I freak out when he told me—I _ditched_ him. I ditched _Adrien!_ On the _Eiffel Tower!_ " She flopped backwards, groaning. "And on top of all that, I have to fight akumas, knowing that _Adrien Agreste_ is backing me up, without going all ditzy! Tikki," she whined, "I thought ladybugs were supposed to be _lucky!_ "

Tikki held Marinette's nose between her tiny hands. "Marinette," she said calmly, "breathe. It's not the end of the world. It's just… uncharted territory for you. Okay?"

Marinette took a deep breath, but still worried away at her lower lip. "Okay. But… what do we do now? Nino still knows I'm Ladybug, and now I'm going to be all 'clumsy Marinette' when I'm supposed to be Ladybug."

Tikki smiled. "You saw how Chat Noir was able to keep up today—even though he was kind of freaking out about your identity. You can do it too."

"But, Tikki… I'm just Marinette. He's _Adrien-freakin'-Agreste_. There's no comparison."

The kwami floated up a ways and stated simply, "Well, you could also say _he's_ just an alley cat, and you're _freaking Ladybug_. But _clearly_ that's _completely_ different." Her usually sugary tone dripped with sour sarcasm.

Marinette opened her mouth to protest, but sighed instead. "I guess I see your point." She rolled onto her stomach, wrapping her arms around a cushion. "So… what do we do now?" she asked in a small voice.

Tikki landed in front of her. "Just take it one step at a time. First, I think we should talk to Adrien."

Marinette groaned. "Do I have to?"

"If you want to function as a team again, yes, you do," Tikki replied. "Then we can take care of your identity crisis."

* * *

Adrien lay in bed clutching a pillow to his chest, his duvet covering him completely.

The combination of anxiety and hurt weighed him down and made him feel sick. He could feel every heartbeat bang around in his chest like a small explosion, and every doubt he'd ever had about his relationship with Ladybug flooded his mind.

"Plagg," he sighed. "I screwed up bigtime."

The kwami was perched on top of the duvet, somewhere near Adrien's head.

"She must hate me now," he continued, his stomach turning at the words. Tears had already slipped across his nose and into his pillowcase.

"You don't know that!" Plagg replied. "Besides, if she hates you, why is she at your window?"

Adrien's eyes widened, nervousness fluttering up from his stomach again. "What? Plagg, if that's a joke, it's not funny." A knock on his window told him that Plagg was telling the truth. "Crap," he muttered, hastily wiping his tears before emerging from his bed. As he let her in the window, he hoped Ladybug— _Marinette_ —couldn't tell that he'd been crying. "Ladybug?"

As soon as she came in, she took a deep breath. "We need to talk."

 _Oh, god, she hates me_. The thought came without warning. "Yeah?" he said cautiously.

"First off," she started, walking toward his couch, "I shouldn't have ditched you at the tower." She perched nervously on the edge of the armrest. "I was… overreacting, and I'm sorry. Second, we need to figure out how to deal with the Nino thing."

For a moment, Adrien forgot his worry and let out a laugh. "What are we gonna do, threaten him?"

Marinette shook her head, smiling. "No, hold on. Spots off."

There was a difference between knowing Marinette was Ladybug and seeing her go from one to the other, Adrien noticed. Seeing the transformation for the first time was a shock. No wonder Nino had almost gone crazy over it.

Marinette somehow failed to notice Adrien's expression of awe. "Tikki had an idea, and even though I don't really like it, I thought it would be fair for the thr—I mean, four of us to discuss it."

* * *

 **NOTES:**

 **So partway through writing this part, I realized I used their "suit up" phrases from both the English and the French versions. Whoops!**

 **I don't care though. I kind of like the way it turned out. Also I'm too lazy to go back and change them.**

 **Kind of important note: Adrien's worried that she's hates him mostly because of the way she bugged out (ha) when he told her what was bugging him (ha) and who he really was. They're friends, but he's worried he ruined something by opening his big mouth.**

 **Another kind of important note: I've been rewatching a few episodes (in Italian, because I need the exposure/practice), and I realized that Marinette has gotten a little more chill around Adrien over time. The freak-out at the Eiffel Tower was her initial reaction due to surprise, shock, and embarrassment, but she can communicate fairly well with him at this point. Plus, the knowledge that he's the dorkiest cat on the planet kind of helps. So... that's why she's not all backwards and stutter-y in this fic.**


	4. Chapter 4

"That… actually doesn't sound like a bad idea," Adrien said from his end of the couch as Tikki finished explaining. "We kind of all need the support."

Marinette nodded. "While I agree with that, I don't know if it would be safe to be that open with Alya and Nino. They're civilians, and Alya already gets into enough trouble as it is."

Tikki settled on Marinette's shoulder. "This wouldn't have been my first choice either, but now that Nino knows, he's going to need not only _your_ support, but that of another civilian. Alya would be a good choice, I think."

At Marinette's glance, Plagg finally chimed in. "They don't need to know _everything_. Besides, it'd be good to have someone to cover for Adrien and Marinette while Chat Noir and Ladybug are out protecting Paris."

The girl nodded and slid down from the armrest of the couch to the cushion. "That's a fair point."

"Alya might even back off a bit," Adrien added. "If she knows who Ladybug is, she won't constantly be on your aaah…" he hesitated, blushing, "…butt anymore."

Marinette tried not to laugh, but failed when Plagg burst into laughter. "What _was_ that?" she asked.

Adrien's blush deepened as he muttered, "I don't swear in front of ladies."

Plagg laughed harder.

 _Oh, my god, that's so precious,_ Marinette thought, covering a smile with her hand as Adrien cleared his throat.

"So are we going to tell Nino and Alya then?" he asked.

Marinette nodded. "Yeah. Tomorrow?"

Tikki answered before Adrien could. "Yes. After school though. They'll need time to process."

The teens nodded, and Marinette transformed to leave. "See you tomorrow," she said just before swinging out of his window.

* * *

They'd agreed to meet at the Dupain-Cheng residence. Marinette had spent half the night clearing out all her pictures of Adrien and changing her computer background to something less embarrassing just to prepare for the guys coming over.

Poor Nino freaked out when Marinette asked him to meet her at her house after school. He whispered apologies for the better half of a minute before she could calm him down.

"I'm not mad at you," she whispered back once she had his attention.

The whole day, she was a bundle of nerves, but she managed to invite Alya over without stumbling over her words.

When they got up to her room, Alya was kind of shocked.

"I can see your wallpaper," she joked as she sat down on the chaise. "Alright, girl, what's this about?"

"Hold on a bit, we have to wait for someone." Marinette sat down beside her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Adrien caught up to Nino. "Hey, are you going to Marinette's?"

Nino stiffened. "Did you _tell_ her?"

The blond shrugged, his face turning pink as he half-lied. "She kind of cornered me."

"Marinette?" his friend laughed. "Cornered _you_?"

Adrien shook his head. " _Ladybug_."

"Oh." Somehow the image of Ladybug was more intimidating than Marinette, but the same could have been said of Superman and Clark Kent. "Wait, are _you_ going to Marinette's house?"

"Yep."

Nino nodded, sighing. "That's actually kind of comforting. At least I don't have to worry about her killing me," he joked.

Adrien smirked. "Who's to say she didn't ask me to help dispose of your body?"

Nino stopped walking and glared at his friend. "Dude. Not cool."

He wasn't very reassured by the pat on his back or his friend's reply. "I'm just kidding, Nino. You'll be fine."

* * *

Alya adjusted, tucking one leg under her. "Waiting for someone? Is that why you took down all your—?"

"Marinette, you have guests!" Sabine's voice carried well through the building.

Marinette stood and called back, "Just send them up, Maman!"

Nino entered first, looking pretty nervous. He was quickly followed by Adrien, who shut the door behind them.

Alya shot Marinette a confused glance.

"Nino, you should probably sit down," Adrien said, motioning toward the empty spot next to Alya.

Alya put her feet on the floor and leaned heavily on her knees. "Marinette, what's going on?"

Marinette sighed as Adrien casually leaned on her shoulder. "We… have something to tell you guys," she said quietly.

Alya jumped the gun. "You two are dating!"

The two of them blushed, and Adrien pulled away, stuffing his hands in his pockets instead.

"My ship has finally set sail! What did I tell you, Nino?"

"N—Alya—" Marinette tried to cut her off, but she kept going.

"OH MY GOD." She lowered her voice to a hiss, "Are you _pregnant_?"

Adrien seemed to be somewhere between incredibly embarrassed and mildly amused, walking idly around the room while a red-faced Marinette finally clamped a hand over her friend's mouth.

"No," she squeaked. "No, no, no. _No_. Just listen." She waited for Alya to nod before removing her hand. "Now, what I'm about to tell you, you can't tell a _soul_." She looked pointedly at Nino, who was sure of what it was about now and shrank under her gaze.

"Actually, Nino," Adrien interrupted, "would you like to tell Alya?"

Alya turned her questioning eyes to her boyfriend, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

Nino looked over at Marinette, who nodded with a small smile. With a sigh, he said, "Marinette… is Ladybug."

A short pause.

"You guys are joking, right?" she asked, half-laughing.

No one said anything.

Her smile faded. "What the _hell_ , Marinette?"

 _Oh, boy._ Marinette braced herself.

" _You told both of these bozos before telling me_?" She stood up, followed quickly by Nino.

"Hey, you're _dating_ this bozo!"

She put a hand in his face without looking away from Marinette. "We can question my life choices _later_ , Nino." She took a deep breath and started again, more calmly. "I get the whole 'secret identity to protect your friends and family' thing, but why didn't you tell me first?"

Adrien interrupted again. "She… didn't tell anyone. Nino found out by accident."

Alya spun to face Nino. "And you didn't tell me?"

He held up his hands defensively. "I was just being a good friend!"

"Well, you told _Adrien_ ," Marinette added.

"I… was just being a good friend," he repeated weakly.

"It's fine, Nino, I'm just teasing you," she replied with a smile. "We just thought it would be fair for you to have some support so you don't feel like you're weighed down so much, which is why we decided on telling Alya, too."

"First off," Nino said, "Adrien knows, so why tell Alya? And secondly, why do you keep saying 'we'? Do you mean you and Adrien, or you and Chat Noir?"

Marinette bit her lip. "Well…"

"Oh. My. God." Alya's gaze was fixed on Adrien, who'd retreated to the far side of the room. "Adrien _is_ Chat Noir!"

"Alya," Nino sighed, "let her answer. Stop making wild assumptions."

"Actually…" Adrien approached the three of them, hands still shoved deep into his pockets. "This time, she's right."

Alya muttered something under her breath before turning to Nino. "That's why they're telling me, too. Adrien isn't just a civilian."

"Right," Marinette nodded. "I just need to know that you guys aren't going to tell anyone else."

"Of course not!" Alya replied, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders. Then she grinned slyly in Nino's direction, winking. "What kind of friend would I be if I did?"

Nino groaned and flopped back on the chaise. "Will you guys give it a rest? I thought this was supposed to be about support."

"Sorry, Nino," Alya said, returning to her seat. She glanced up at Marinette again. "So… you two _aren't_ dating?"

Marinette blushed. "A-Alya!"

"Just making sure." She grinned. "I've got a lot of readers on the Ladyblog who ship LadyNoir."

Adrien, half-admiring the work Marinette had left on her mannequin and half-listening, hoped no one noticed the blush creeping across his face.

"Well, you are not posting anything about _that_ on the Ladyblog," Marinette said. "First off, because there's nothing to post, and second, because it's too personal!"

"I'll settle for an exclusive interview," Alya joked, winking at her friend.

Marinette rolled her eyes. " _Maybe_. But not today. This," she gestured broadly, "is enough for today."

Alya put a hand to her heart, feigning hurt. "Are you kicking me out?"

Marinette laughed. "Yes, all of you. We have homework, remember?"

Nino got up. "Thank god this torture session is over," he said, "I'm never coming back here."

"There's a ninety-percent chance my parents made you guys snacks, by the way," Marinette replied.

Nino grinned and grabbed his girlfriend's hand. "Forget what I just said. Come on, Alya."

Alya pointed at her friend as Nino lifted the trap door. "I am _so_ holding you to the interview thing."

"Of course," Marinette said.

"Coming, Adrien?" Nino asked, holding the door up over his head.

"One sec," he replied. "I'll catch up."

As soon as the door shut, Marinette dropped to her chaise and sighed. "What was that you said about Alya not being on my ass anymore?"

Adrien's eyes widened, and Plagg tumbled out of his shirt, laughing.

"What?" Marinette asked, looking up at him with innocent eyes. "Never heard a lady curse before?"

After a moment, he laughed too. "I'll see you later, Marinette," he said, still grinning. Plagg tucked himself back into his hiding spot as Adrien swung open the trap door and started making his way down.

"Bye, Adrien."

The second Adrien was gone, Tikki came out of hiding. "That wasn't so bad," she said, giggling.

"I need…" Marinette sighed. "…a long nap. Maybe when I wake up, the whole thing will turn out to be a dream."

"You said that last night, Marinette," the kwami replied.

"Maybe this time I'll be right." The teen got up and climbed the steps to her bed. "I can't believe Alya thought Adrien and I were dating," she said as she lay down.

Tikki laughed. " _I_ can't believe she jumped from dating to _pregnant_ so quickly."

"Ugh, that was so _embarrassing_!" Marinette pulled her pillow over her face. "Wake me up in an hour. Or never. Either is fine."

Tikki didn't say anything else and let her nap. It had been a long twenty-four hours between the akuma and all this drama. She deserved a break.

* * *

 **NOTE: I'm sorry about taking so long to post this. I've been doing other stuff (read: playing D &D every other day). I hope you liked it!**

 **The first section of this chapter should have been part of Chapter 3, but I didn't write it until like, last week.**

 **(Just so you all know, I don't actually swear IRL. I write the way I think characters would speak (realistically). Except for the F-bomb. That's just never going to happen.)**


End file.
